"How dare you!" At his words, the faces of several Liang guards changed in unison. "How dare you slander Great Liang's reputation?"
Whether this was true or not, for a hostage from Jin to dare speak like that in Great Liang could be considered a provocation.
Yet the lead guard merely gave a disdainful sneer. "Tch, so what? Great Liang was the one that brought builders to new heights!"
He did not argue the point, which showed that this claim at least aligned with some commonly accepted understanding.
What he emphasized was that Liang's builders were stronger now-did basking in your ancestors' past glory really give you that much face?
At these words, an image involuntarily formed in Wu Youren's mind.
Amid towering mountains and swirling white mist, a long dragon wound along ridges and peaks into the distance...
"Brought them to new heights?" Feng Qianjun smiled dismissively.
He had no intention of further provoking them, merely glancing at Wu Youren-you knew more about builders; weren't you going to say something?
But seeing his wandering gaze, Feng Qianjun sighed inwardly. Looks like I can't count on him.
In the end, He Wenhao spoke up. "Much of Jin's building expertise has gone toward people's livelihoods, such as road construction and dredging..."
He had the standing to speak on this. Liang's builders really had been lacking in the past.
It was just that Liang had stepped up their training on the battlefield to meet the demands of combat.
Laying roads, building bridges, digging trenches, constructing barracks, raising fortresses... there was so much builders could do.
The same abilities applied to entirely different fields would naturally yield different returns.
Working extensively on civilian livelihoods earned reasonable profits, but the essence of war... was robbery!
More importantly, Great Liang had kept winning, so it was only natural that the building profession had developed rapidly.
"Then what are you complaining about?" A Liang guard snorted. "War is the easiest way to make a fortune. You chose the wrong path yourselves. Who else can you blame?"
"Fair enough." Wu Youren nodded slightly. "Great Jin stockpiles grain, Great Liang stockpiles guns... as for the builder business, forget it."
A dozen or so minutes later, someone did arrive, but they would still have to wait a while for a builder.
Some guards wanted to keep waiting, but their leader said their proper business came first. After explaining that this was a job for Young Marquis Wu, he left.
The cars drove for another hour or so, and the land on either side of the road grew increasingly desolate.
Jin Garden had already been on Tianjing's outskirts. By now, they should have reached its outer suburbs.
Wu Youren finally realized why Tianjing's strangeness had felt vaguely familiar.
Blocks full of ruined walls, lifeless, decaying buildings, and rust-covered sheet metal everywhere...
Wasn't this the Rust Zone? Could this place once have had an even more brilliant industrial past?
After another ten-odd minutes, the three cars turned off the road and entered a weed-choked courtyard.
The corner of Wu Youren's mouth twitched. This was the grand capital of Tianjing?
Over the past few decades, Great Liang had waged war far and wide, defeating multiple kingdoms. Calling it a sun at its zenith was no exaggeration.
It was not as though he had never seen a thriving nation. Especially near the capital, where would one find such scenes of decay and desolation?
Still, being a sun at its zenith and thriving... did not seem absolutely opposed, either.
He was not the only one who found it odd. Feng Qianjun also sensed something amiss. "Don't we need to worry about the Weird Race here?"
The lead guard glanced at him and snorted. "Were you expecting us to escort you to the Martial Academy in uniform?"
All five hostages froze at these words, their faces filled with disbelief.
They had already assumed that was how things would proceed. Who would have thought there would be a change at this point?
The five of them certainly did not want to enter the Martial Academy as hostages. They would absolutely face discriminatory treatment in their daily lives.
Even if they could endure the humiliation, becoming targets for everyone would make escaping much harder.
In short, they had long since braced themselves for a string of troubles and discomforts.
Yet even so, they still looked forward to life at the Martial Academy. Surely it would be better than the lifeless hostage residence?
Now that they heard they might not have to reveal their identities as hostages, their anticipation instantly rose considerably.
But would the people of Liang really be so kind? There was probably more to it!
Each of the five had his own thoughts-children from powerful families never lacked perspective.
Though such families had a high chance of producing wastrels, that depended on their upbringing. Eight years as hostages in a foreign country had let hardship make them grow.
Seeing that none of the five spoke, even the Liang guards could not help marveling inwardly. They really can keep their composure.
"Don't you want to say something?"
After a stretch of silence, He Wenhao spoke. "We're just so happy that we can hardly believe it. Is there anything you need us to do?"
Free pies did not simply fall from the sky. They might as well be direct.
"It's purely for the friendship between Great Liang and Jin," the lead guard declared solemnly.
Whether they believed it or not, he certainly did!
"Revealing your identities as hostages would affect your circumstances at the Martial Academy. Of course, we also hope you'll live up to our trust."
The five hostages exchanged looks.
In the end, Feng Qianjun stated their position. "Please rest assured. We're very grateful for this goodwill, and we also care deeply about friendly relations between our two nations."
He had to be the one to deliver the official pleasantries. The others did not carry quite enough weight.
The guard leader paused, then finally smiled faintly. "Remember what you said. You'll understand in the future."
There was clearly more to his words, but the five hostages did not dwell on it.
At the very least, being able to conceal their identities was a very good start.
As for what they might encounter later, they could only act according to circumstances and counter each move as it came.
At that moment, the other four hostages felt what Wu Youren had felt earlier: since they could not influence the situation anyway, they could only bear it.
Then Wu Youren spoke. "May I ask... are we really not going to encounter the Weird Race here?"
Isn't that a rather ill-timed concern? He Wenhao gave him a speechless look.
Feng Qianjun, however, nodded inwardly. He changed the subject promptly without forgetting to probe. But is he really that quick-witted?
"So what if we do?" one guard snorted disdainfully. "Look how cowardly you are."
Even if members of the Weird Race appeared near the capital, they would be extremely low-level ones.
Whether the guards present or the five opposite them, even the weakest were Knight Apprentices. What was there to worry about?
But he had no interest in explaining this to hostages from an enemy country. Instead, he indulged himself by taking the opportunity to mock him.
"What I mean is..." Wu Youren raised a hand and pointed at the distant dark clouds. "It's going to rain!"
Some members of the Weird Race had difficulty appearing during the day, but overcast skies removed many of those restrictions, and rain even more so.
The others understood what he meant, but the guard remained unconcerned. "Heh, so what if the Weird Race shows up?"
Wu Youren fell silent, his eyes darting everywhere.
At last, he found an exposed length of rebar, roughly twenty centimeters long and one centimeter thick.
He went over and began bending it back and forth-a piece of rebar like this would be more lethal than his wooden shortsword.
The others could guess his intentions. Hostages had always been strictly forbidden from possessing overly lethal weapons.
But being so poor that even rebar caught his eye-well, his plain clothes already showed just how hard up he was.
Feng Qianjun blinked twice, then decided against helping him.
They had only just left Jin Garden, and there was no knowing how much they would encounter at the Martial Academy. He did not have the means to casually spare sympathy for others.
Still, he did not merely stand and watch. Instead, he walked toward the car. "Then I'll get a couple more weapons ready too."
He did not have many weapons on him either. Many were decorative and not particularly practical, but they were still better than a wooden sword.
"Everyone, stop!" the guard leader snorted. "The people meeting us will be here any moment. Don't go looking for trouble..."
Just then, a guard walked over. "Boss, we only just got through to them. They said we should wait a while!"
"Wait, my ass!" The leader flew into a rage. "This was fucking arranged ages ago! What's a mere mid-tier Martial Academy putting on airs for?"
"They said... they came, but we weren't here," the guard answered listlessly.
Although they could freely order the hostages around, their position within the overall guard system really was not high.
Great Liang's officials all knew that guards wearing armbands marked "hostage" came from well-off families, and their loyalty was not an issue either.
It was an easygoing department with little work, yet relatively rich pickings.
Most importantly, they did not have to face many dangerous incidents. Without some family connections, one really could not get in.
But those who entered this department were basically just eating their fill and waiting to die.
An easy job meant few chances to earn merit, and years of contact with enemy hostages also counted against them when promotions came around!
There were certainly people who could achieve something, but very few.
So there was nothing strange about even a mid-tier Martial Academy paying them no heed.
"We're fucking... doing a job for Young Marquis Wu!" The leader stamped and raged. "Didn't you explain?"
"They said they understood, but they already had other arrangements." The guard explaining still sounded rather listless.
"So if they come again, they'll be a little late. After all, we were the ones who weren't punctual first."
"I fucking wanted to be punctual," the leader muttered weakly.
There was nothing to be done. Who could have foreseen running into the young marquis racing his car? "Did they say when they could get here?"
"They said they weren't sure!" the guard replied gravely. "Red Pine Martial Academy has had quite a lot going on lately too."
"Bullshit. Who knows what they're plotting?" the leader said darkly.
Anyone who thought the Martial Academies were full of hotheaded youngsters would be sorely mistaken.
Great Liang did not speak of an academic faction, but over these decades of war, the various Martial Academies had contributed far too many outstanding talents.
At that moment, someone finally called out a warning. "Boss, the dark clouds are getting close!"
The leader considered it, then reluctantly muttered, "Move all the cars under the eaves and stay on guard!"
"One damn thing after another..."